Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea #2 Review

 

Writer: Mike Mignola

Artist & Colorist: Jesse Lonergan

Letterer: Clem Robins

Cover Artists: Jesse Lonergan; Christine Larsen

Publisher: Dark Horse

Price: $3.99

Release Date: June 14, 2023

 

The year is 1883. The place is London, England. Mrs. Lamb knocks on her door. Miss Truesdale desires neither food nor drink. Five days have passed, yet the dream of Tefnut Trionus, the Queen of the Heliotropic Brotherhood, still dominates her thoughts. What strange ordeal must Miss Truesdale undergo? What battle must she fight? Let's venture into Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea #2 and find out!

 

Story

Issue #1 ended with the revelation that Tefnut’s earliest incarnation was the Hyperborean servant, while Miss Truesdale was the warrior Anum Yassa. After the servant’s warning, the gladiator did not drink the poisoned wine. Instead, her owners locked her in her quarters. When they released her, she wandered through the complex. When she reached the temple where her captors once planned to sacrifice her, Anum Yassa saw the servant girl again. Sadly, it wasn't a happy reunion.

 

The intent behind the remainder of Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea #2 is unclear. The priest invokes the goddess and disappears. Anum Yassa beholds her wonder and majesty but escapes the temple unharmed. She seeks out the priest and battles people from her past. Did the priest want to sacrifice her? Did he intend for her to die outside the temple? Or did he use her to summon his goddess to draw on her supernatural strength?

 

Secondly, Tefnut shared this dream five days ago. Flashbacks show that Miss Truesdale shared the vision. After returning from Paris, Miss Truesdale sought Anum Ra's guidance. Once again, she peered into prehistoric times. Is she repeating the dream over five days? Did Tefnut see the latter portion?

 

Lastly, Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea #2 leaves me uncertain about crucial names. As the hyperborean warrior fights her former foes, she names them. Yet we never learn the name of the servant girl, the priest, or his goddess. Perhaps I missed them? The crowd chanted "Anum Yassa” while she fought. The first angel of Heaven is named Anum. Miss Truesdale prays to a saint or prophet named Anum Ra. Am I correct about the warrior's name? If so, that's a trilogy of Anums.

 

 

Art

Jesse Lonergan's easy-going style suggests the exhilaration of creation. Hyperborean characters look rounded and lumpy, while the priest sports sharp angles. Victorian characters look thin like the priest but have pointy chins. The warrior's chainmail and clothing remind me of Red Sonja, but the nightmarish temple scene, and her battle against her foes, recall Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories. But then, Howard also wrote about Hyperborean times.

 

The goddess may resemble a cupid, yet she holds a head in one hand, a steaming bowl in the other, and wears a sash adorned with skulls. A snake rests on her arms. The eyes behind a mask reminiscent of Kali burn with heavenly fire.

 

Much is gray in Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea #2. Yet the patina of Jesse Lonergan's limited palette suggests weathered copper, water-damaged painted wood, or lichen on rocks. What seems simple is quite nuanced.

 

Clem Robins’ uppercase black letters range from small to large. Words are easy to read, and the white dialogue balloons are easy to follow. Colorful sound effects hack through panels like Anum Yassa’s favorite weapon. The RRAAAAA in two panels reminds me of a furiously beeping E.K.G. Might it relate to the second half of the name of Miss Truesdale's patron saint?

 

Final Thoughts

Men ruled Hyperborea and Victorian England. Both countries practiced imperialism. Today England is a beacon of Western civilization. It's granted self-rule to former dominions and champions the rights of women. I don't know whether imperialism and women's rights are inexplicably linked, but I suspect contemporary England represents the better world Tefnut worked to create.

 

Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea #2 glow with heroes and action, shine with Mignolaverse lore and sparkle with Tefnut’s hopes of building a better world. Whether you read the issue or not, I hope you’re working to transform her dreams into reality.

 

Rating 8.8/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea #1 Review

 

Writer: Mike Mignola

Artist & Colorist: Jesse Lonergan

Letterer: Clem Robins

Cover Artists: Jesse Lonergan; Mike Mignola with Dave Stewart

Publisher: Dark Horse

Price: $3.99

Release Date: May 17, 2023

 

In 1883, Tefnut Trionus, the Queen of the Heliotropic Brotherhood, asked Miss Truesdale to attend her. She understands that the men of their order—dedicated to preserving the secrets of a long-forgotten age--are making Miss Truesdale's life difficult. But how can Tefnut—the reincarnation of Eugene Remy, who founded the Heliotropic Brotherhood—force Victorian gentlemen to accord her more respect? Let's unsheathe our swords, leap into Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea #1, and find out!

 

Story

Tefnut claims to be the reincarnation of Eugene Remy, who founded the Heliotropic Brotherhood. She wishes to relate a dream to Miss Truesdale. In the late 19th Century, Miss Truesdale would have traveled from London to the Heliotropic Brotherhood's headquarters in Paris. While that's a hundred years after Percy Blakeney rescued aristocrats from Madam Guillotine during the French Revolution, the methods of travel likely wouldn't have changed much. Miss Truesdale would have traveled by stagecoach from London to Dover. Assuming the tides favored her, she would have boarded a ship heading across the English Channel. (If not, Miss Truesdale would have spent the night in a local inn). After arriving in France, she would board another coach and travel to Paris. We don't learn why Miss Truesdale traveled there or how long she’s been in Paris. It seems a long way to ride in jolting wooden carriages and across a choppy sea if it's just to hear about someone's dream.

 

Tefnut’s dream concerns two women. Both were slaves. The first—I’m assuming her name is Anum Yassa, as that’s what the Hyperborean spectators chant—fights in the arena, using an axe that belonged to her father. The second—a woman taken from the river people of Gerrona--brings her food and drink after her battles. Neither Anum’s hair nor her figure reminds me of Red Sonja. Still, her origin story is similar, and her outfit seems like a cross between Red Sonja's and that of Gilad Anni-Padda, also known as the Eternal Warrior.

 

The women discuss Tefnut's dream, and then Miss Truesdale returns home. She seems to draw strength from it, but I suspect it also troubles her. Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea #1 may be a five-minute read, but I look forward to seeing what comes next. Hopefully, Mike Mignola will give us more to sink our teeth into in issue #2.

 

 

 

 

Art

Jesse Lonergan's carefree, hand-drawn imagery doesn't glamorize his characters, but he does give them personality. Most Hyperboreans look large and roughly shaped in Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea #1. They certainly contrast with Tefnut, the prim and proper Miss Truesdale, and the Victorian gentlemen of the brotherhood. Perhaps nature or the divine grew more refined as time went on. I especially enjoyed the London scenes: the cobblestone streets and Miss Truesdale's cultured and well-appointed flat. She seems quiet, respectful, erudite, and reverent.

 

Lonergan employs a limited color palette in Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea #1. Yellow, red, brown, and gray are his primary colors. His coloring appears blotchy as if he's dabbing darker tones—or another color—to provide depth and interest. Despite the heavy use of brown and gray, vibrant colors provide strong contrast. His faces remind me of Roman frescoes assembled from tiny clay tiles.

 

Letterer Clem Robins’ uppercase black lettering is easy on the eyes. He uses colored sound effects during the gladiatorial games and fills the air with the crowd's chant. They may not be shouting Thulsa Doom's, but you can imagine how hearing her name, echoing across the arena, would empower Anum to conquer her opponents.

 

Final Thoughts

Miss Truesdale and the Fall of Hyperborea #1 marks a new entry in the ever-expanding Hellboy universe. I look forward to discovering how Tefnut's dream about an undefeated female gladiator influences Miss Truesdale’s future in her close-knit male-dominated society.

 

Rating 7.3/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.